


Audiobooks

by TaraTyler



Series: SuperCat Fam [18]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2016-05-13
Packaged: 2018-06-08 05:28:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6840775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaraTyler/pseuds/TaraTyler





	Audiobooks

“Cat, read to me.” Catherine Jane Grant had never loved to hear a phrase so much as that one before. The only phrases that compared were when her sons or girlfriend said ‘I love you’, ‘you were right’ from someone who was wrong, or ‘we scooped The Planet’.

Kara had been diagnosed with dyslexia by her super-genius doctor foster parents as a way to cover for her struggles with the English written word. It was the super-heroine’s dirtiest little secret and one of her greatest shames. This particular secret was even more well kept than Kara’s secret identity. Cat herself hadn’t even found out until the pair had been dating for four months already. However, with Kara’s natural ability to learn languages, it was totally unexpected.

2 months ago -----/////-----

“Kiera!” Cat had called from her office. It was nickname now, said with the slightest hint of affection and no malice. “Come here, please!”

Kara strode with one of her easy smiles into Cat’s office. The internet was down on Cat’s floor and the last meeting’s notes had to be taken by hand. Kara assumed that Cat had called her in to decipher Kara’s almost always illegible handwriting. Cat’s brow was rumpled into an unreadable expression that was new to Kara. She seemed concerned, but Kara couldn’t guess about what.

“In the past few months that we have been together, would you say that we have learned a lot about one another, Kara?” Cat asked, dropping the source of her confusion back onto her desk.

“Yes, I feel like I’ve learned a lot more about you in the past four months. I wouldn’t trade it of the world. Why do you ask? What are you on about, Cat?” Kara asks, growing increasingly uneasy.

The older blonde blindly grabs a book from the top drawer of her. She hands it to Kara.

“Read me the first paragraph.” Cat instructs.

“Ms.Grant, I … why?” Kara asks, her face draining of color.

“Kara, how have you managed to hide this from everyone for so long? You can’t read?” Cat’s voice is a cross of worry and anger.

“I can read! I just… I have trouble reading in English. Kryptonian is easy.” Kara protests quickly. “I’m not stupid or something.”

“You’re dyslexic.” Cat stated simply.

“In essence, yes. Reading is confusing, I don’t exhibit the same symptoms and if I stare at something for long enough I can figure it out eventually.” Kara says. This isn’t something that she likes to talk about. “My foster father, Jeremiah Danvers, he made an application that I can download onto almost anything I’d like to. It translates English to Kryptonian for me quickly enough that it’s almost unnoticeable.” 

Cat almost wishes that she hadn’t said anything at all from the look of shame on Kara’s face. It was almost heartbreaking for Cat to see. Her emotional distress was understandable. However Kara had been working for Cat for almost five years before Cat had known about this and she’s been the best assistant that CatCo had ever seen before. She was shocked that she hadn’t ever heard, noticed, or seen anything about this before.

As the days passed, Cat considered the new information in their interactions. Kara was still competent and incredibly intelligent. It only meant that her respect for the alien had risen even more exponentially. Her strength was clearly insurmountable Cat’s heart warmed, she ached inside, and she felt her love for the girl grow just a little bit more.

It wasn’t until they were watching Harry Potter that some of the other facets of Kara’s dyslexia came to the light. Kara, Cat, and Carter all really loved the Harry Potter series. The boy sat happily on the couch between them. He grinned up at them every now and then at times. He was sooo happy to see his mom happy with someone, especially when that someone was Kara Danvers.

“The books were better.” he says decidedly before looking up to his mother. “Wouldn’t you say so, Mom?”

“Yeah, buddy. They really were.” Cat agrees.

“Kara?” he asked, eyes wide, questioning and playful.

“I… I’ve never read the book. I’ve never read any of the books, actually.” Kara admits going shamefaced again.

“What!?” Carter protests, horrorstruck. It was written all over his face that he thought that this was terrible. “Why not?! They’re fantastic! You definitely should. I’m going to go get them for…””

“No, Carter. Don’t.” Cat said, grabbing his collar and pulling him back into her.

“Why not?” he asked looking crestfallen.

“She doesn’t need to read the books, buddy. The movies are pretty great on their own.” Cat says though she lied poorly.

“I should still grab them just in case she wants to read them later on. Kara likes Potter, it could happen.” Carter protests.

“No, buddy. Your mom is right. I won’t read them. An audiobook maybe, but I don’t read.” Kara says softly, but firmly.

“Why not? I love reading.” Carter asks and Cat starts to say something, but is interrupted.

“I don’t read well in English. It wasn’t my first language and I struggle with it. Letters were different in my first language and I’m kind of dyslexia. It’s alright buddy, I like the movies. They’re really good, actually.” Kara says kind of sadly. Cat can hear the notes of deception in her voice that most other people would have missed.

“You can always do what I did before I could read!” Carter says, hopping up again. “It takes a lot longer, but nonetheless it’s really nice. You get almost the same feeling.”

“What’s that?” Kara asks, curious now.

“Have Mom read it to you.” he says as though it were a totally normal thing to suggest.

He brought her the first book and laid it in her lap.

“When the movie is over you two can get started.” he pronounced and turned the movie back on.

\-----/////-----

Kara settled into bed again happily that night. Cat slipped in next to her, sliding her glasses down onto her nose. She couldn’t honestly believe that this was something she was about to do. It was pretty normal for her to have read to Carter as a child. This was her girlfriend though, and she was about to read to her.

The smile on the blonde’s face though, her eyes even sparkled the way that they did when Kara is truly happy. She seemed excited and pleased. That was what truly mattered. That was why Cat was doing this. Plus, these were great books.

“Are you ready?” Cat asked. “I’ve got my water and my book, I’m good to go.” 

Kara pillows her head onto Cat’s shoulder and looks up at her expectantly. Cat starts to read and Kara’s eyes close, but she hangs off of every word. She finds that she loves the sound of Cat’s voice. Kara finds herself falling in love with the tone and the timbre of it. Kara is pretty sure that it’s the most content and peaceful that she had ever felt.

As soon as Cat closes the book, Kara rolls over and kisses her hard.

“What was that for?!” Cat asks though she isn’t complaining at all.

“Because that was beautiful, kind, and one of the most wonderful things that anyone has ever done for me.” Kara murmurs before trailing a kiss down her throat.

“And you are all of those things in spades. I can’t believe you.” Cat laughs into Kara’s lips.

\-----/////-----

This soon became a standard thing in their lives. Together, Cat and Kara went through all of the Harry Potter books, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Hobbit. Kara would listen in total silence, enjoying Cat’s voice. When the chapter was over she would roll over to kiss Cat’s goodnight and thank her for the story. Sometimes a mission would crop up and Kara would be forced to leave; other times Kara would roll over to kiss Cat goodnight, and things would progress from there. Life was good.

\-----/////-----

“I won’t be able to read to you tonight, I don’t think.” Cat says sadly. She feels terrible. Kara has brought her hot tea after hot green tea. Still, she is hoarse and doubts it will go away anytime soon.

“It’s alright. No big at all, really.” Kara says despite her mild disappointment.

“No, I know how much you like it.” Cat said in reply before falling into coughs.

“I can live, I’m sure.” Kara says teasingly.

“Oh actually, I’ve got something for you just in case of this.” Cat fishes a flash-drive out of her night-stand and passes it to Kara.

“Only for while I am out of commission. There’s a special something towards the end. That I hope you’ll like.” Cat’s tired smile warms Kara’s heart considerably. “Make sure that my empire doesn’t collapse in my absence.”

The sick woman rolls over and falls asleep quickly.

After a while of listening to Cat’s easy and even breathing and steady heartbeat, Kara downloaded the contents of the flashdrive to her cell phone, ate some breakfast and took off (literally) for CatCo. In a seeming fit of pique, Kara took Cat’s personal elevator up to their floor. She sat at the desk in the fish-bowl office.

She put in her earbuds and began to answer Cat’s emails. The book wasn’t one that Kara had ever even heard of before. She was deeply touched that Cat had taken the time to do something like this for. The time that it must have taken Kara’s eyes welled up with tears as she listened to poem after poem; carefully chosen by Cat Grant herself.

When Winn was eventually delegated by the office to figure out what was going on, he found Kara staring directly in a way that made him worry about laser vision. Her fingers were steepled together and she was gnawing on her lower lip in a very thoughtful manner. Clearly, Kara was focused intently on something and Winn was reluctant to interrupt. He stepped inside and gently rapped his knuckles against the glass. Kara hit pause in the middle of The Land of Storybooks and sat back in a very Cat Grant manner.

“Yes, Winn?” Kara asks, one eyebrow reaching for her hairline.

“Kara, where’s Ms.Grant?” he asked, hoping that he wouldn’t be getting himself in trouble. 

“Out sick. She told me to be sure that the company did burn down in her absence.” Kara replied, one of those grins reserved specifically for friends and family crossing her face.

“I’m just checking that you hadn’t come into contact with oddly colored Kryptonite again.” he said sheepishly; scratching at the back of his neck.

“I’m in my right mind, don’t worry. Now, Ms.Grant doesn’t pay you just to stand around and chat does she?” Kara asks teasingly.

“No, I guess that she doesn’t.” he chuckles and returns to his desk.

Oddly enough, Kara seemed completely at ease and content behind Cat’s desk. She handled negotiations with eloquence and much fewer swear words and yelling than Cat would have used. Her friends watched on in mild surprise and awe. They had known that despite her duties as a super-heroine, Kara was a very good assistant. Since Cat had discovered Kara’s secret identity her efficiency had shot up yet again.

However, they were realizing that Kara had learned a lot more from her mentor than they knew or she had expected. She was just as good as Cat it seemed. She was even more polite and congenial. Even when verbally attacked by those who had been expecting Cat, Kara had remained calm without taking any shit. Cat’s teachings in that smooth and soothing voice flitted through her mind each time that she needed it. It was needless to say that Kara raised up in her coworkers’ estimations.

After a particularly hard argument, Kara collapsed into Cat’s chair with a heavy sigh. She wished that she had an assistant on her own. With a slow grin spreading across her lips, kara paged for Winn. He rushed in and she wordlessly passed him a sticky note. He stares at her in horror.

“You’re sending me for coffee?!” he squeaks.

“I’m Cat Grant today. I guess that that makes you Kara Danvers. Chop chop, Kiera!” she claps her hands and puts her headphones in, really wishing that she could go fly for a while.

Kara chuckles and leans back in the comfy chair, enjoying the way the entire office smelled of her girlfriend. Her eyes closed as she hit play and Cat’s voice soothed her. Sadly, there were only ten or twenty minutes left on the recording Cat had made for her. Honestly though, Karawas looking forward to listening to it all of the way through again.

The last poem came along just as Winn returned with an out of season pumpkin spice latte. It was different from the others, and Kara held up a finger for Winn to hush. She started it over and took a sip, starting the track over. She stood and listened closely. 

“Kara,   
I didn’t actually intend to do this when I began recording these tracks for you. I was struck by the idea though and I just couldn’t shake it. These past few years have been the best of my life. You’ve made me happier than I could have ever imagined and i would like to image that I have done as much for you. I love you and it would make me happier than any other woman on this or any other planet if you would do me the honor of being my wife.”

Kara covers her mouth with her hands and drops the latte that Winn had just brought her; making an odd choking noise that he had never heard her make before.

“Kara, are you alright?” he asks, rushing to her side as her head spun.

“Rao, yes. I’m more than alright. Cat just asked me to… to marry her.” Kara stumbles over the words.

“Over the phone?” he asks in confusion. That was the least romantic thing that he had ever heard of in his entire life.

“No, no, it’s her playlist of poems. She recorded herself reading poetry for me and gave it to me this morning. The last track is a… proposal.” Kara can feel tears running down her face but doesn’t remember when she had begun to cry.

“Um, well, do want me to watch over things while you go to her?” Winn offers, still rather confused.

“No, I’ll finish the day out. She’d kill me if I left. I’m going to have Alex come; maybe lucy too and tell them first. Thank you for offering though, Winn. You’re the sweetest.” Kara’s smile is something you can’t look directly at. The brilliance of it is blinding.

“I’m happy for you, Kara, even if I don’t quite understand it. You deserve this and I wish you and Ms.Grant the best.” he says grabbing her hand and kissing her cheek before going.

“Thanks again, Winn. You’re a fantastic friend.” she says before turning away to call her sister. Alex doesn’t answer so Kara leaves a magic to meet her at the office ASAP. Until then, Kara continues to fill Cat’s place, making sure that everything would make life as easy as possible for Cat when she came back to work. If Kara’s smile was totally dazzling, and maybe her feet were literally not touching the ground, no one pointed it out.

“Kara, there is obviously no emergency here. Why am I here? Why are you floating in front of all of these people and why haven’t they noticed?” Alex barrages her with questions as she enters Cat’s office.

“You weren’t kidding when you said that Cat had left you in charge of the company, were you?” Lucy asks, following the brunette Danvers sibling inside.

“Cat proposed.” Kara says, her entire face lighting up with the kind of joy that was automatically contagious to everyone within a certain range.

“She did what?! How?” Lucy asks, bouncing up and down on the balls of her fee.

“What did you say back?” Alex asks, her eyebrows shooting up and a soft smile on her lips.

“She recorded it after a long list of poems that she was reading to me. They were all really romantic as her proposal.”

“How did proposals work on Krypton?” Lucy asks.

“Your parents ask if their parents would like to combine houses. Then they discuss prices and lands and titles.” Kara answers, stuffing her face full of one of the crullers that Cat had brought for her.

“That won’t work. Can you make her dinner?” Lucy asks with an expression of distinct disgust.

“No! Why don’t you bring her the head of one of her greatest enemies?” Alex asks in that darkly humorous way she had.

“I’m not going to fight my cousin so that I can kill his wife and your wife’s sister. Thanks for the super helpful idea though, Alex. Really.” Kara’s eye roll has become one of the biggest constants in Alex’s life. It even haunted her dreams at this point.

“Though that does give me a sort of, kind of, idea.” Kara winces when her sister and sister-in-law looked horrified. “Not like that!”

She lays the plan out for them before heading out to pick up Carter and talk to him about things. Her hand is strong and comforting around Carter’s in that way he likes. He listens intently and smiles happily when he hears that his mother proposed. It pleases Kara a lot that he is happy about it. Having Carter approve has always meant a lot ot her.

\-----/////-----

“So, do you think that you can do that for me?” Kara asked with a kind and proud smile.

“Definitely. You know that she’ll do just about anything for me or for you.” Carter’s smile is youthful and confident in a way that it isn’t normally. Kara feels a rush for affection for the boy and quickly kisses his forehead lovingly.

“I do know that. Text me when you’re ready.” she sends him on into the house and takes off to the beach where Lucy and Alex, and Winn and James are waiting.

“My sister is flying over with the big guy as we speak. I still don’t see why this is necessary. Does my sister really have to be here for this?” Lucy grumbles.

“She’s family, Luce. She should be here for this family moment.” Alex rolls her eyes in a very Kara way.

“How very wholesome of you, Alex.” Kara snorts, an arm around Eliza Danvers’ waist. She was excited; bouncing on the balls of her feet. A nervous energy coursed through her veins as she held the hands of her foster mother and her sister, watching the sunset.

“I’m happy for you, Kara. You deserve the whole world and I think that Cat Grant is pretty determined to give it to you.” Eliza says, squeezing Kara’s hand. By way of reply Kara kisses the crown of her head; knowing that Eliza hated the fact that Kara was a whole head taller than her.

“If she hurts you, I will kill her.” Alex says simply.

“And I will hide the body.” Lucy adds.

“We’re all set up!” Winn announces. “The tide’s about to come in, so this needs to happen now if it’s going to happen.”

Kara shot off a text message to Carter who was already in position. She did her own part with short bursts of concentrated laser vision. Everyone gathered close to her, underneath Cat’s balcony, awaiting her imminent arrival. Carter finally coaxed her out, wrapped up in a warm blanket. James counted to three and they all shouted.

“SHE SAID YES!!!”

Around one hundred and fifty candles were lit at their feet, spelling out the word ‘yes’ in all capital letters.

Kara jumped up then, hanging at Cat’s level on the balcony.

“I listened to those poems all of the way through and eventually got to your proposal so… if you’ll still have me; I would very much like to marry you.” Kara took both of Cat’s hands in her own.

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to marry you. It just seemed to never be the right time for it.” Cat admitted with a teary eyed smile.

“Screw timing. Let’s get married!” Kara lifted Cat over the barrier and into her arms to kiss.

Nobody on the ground heard a word that had been said,but they knew what the kiss meant for sure. They exploded into applause and cheers. Clark flew up as well, swinging Carter up in the air. They landed and celebrated, Kara and Clark’s feet never really touching the ground. Cat and Kara were inseparable. For as long as celebrations went on, they were touching one another in some way.


End file.
